Kansas State Capitol - Online tour - Lincoln statue

Located in the southeast quadrant of Capitol Square, this statue of Abraham Lincoln was created by Robert Merrell Gage, who also created the nearby Pioneer Women’s Memorial. Gage was born in Topeka in 1892 and attended Washburn College. He pursued an art career in New York and France and returned to Topeka in 1916 to begin the Lincoln statue, his first public commission. After serving in World War I, Gage returned to teach sculpture at Washburn College and the Kansas City Art Institute. He later became head of the sculpture department at the University of Southern California. Gage earned an Academy Award for his 1956 film, The Face of Lincoln, which showed a wet clay bust of Lincoln, reflecting the changes to his face during the years of his presidency.